Summer Days -A Game of Salt and Oak Companion-
by TaylaWrites
Summary: See the world through the eyes of our young heroes. Return to the days when Elyssia and Theon were still new to Winterfell, and just starting their friendship with Robb Stark and his brother Jon. -AU set before the days of the current Game of Thrones series.-
1. The Cake -1-

_Robb Stark_

"Oh come on, Elyssia. It'll be _fun._ " Robb listened as Theon tried to coax the girl in front of them into their plans.

"I don't want to" Elyssia crossed her arms over chest, her blond curls bouncing as she shook her head. "You always leave me behind. And I never get any of the cake"

"Please Elyssia?" Jon tried his turn, tugging at the younger girl's sleeve. "Cook never gives in if it's just us. She really likes you. She'll give you extra cake. And we'll share with you"

The look on Theon's face suggested otherwise as Elyssia considered Jon's offer. She frowned at the three of them, blue eyes partially resentful.

"How do I know I won't get in trouble with Lady Catelyn" She asked.

None of them could answer. They all knew from experience that Robb's mother was much sterner with Elyssia and Jon than she was with anyone else. Elyssia had been victim to more than one of her harsh punishments. One of which was being sent to bed with nothing but a heel of bread for dinner.

"Please Elyssia? We need you" Robb tried, smiling when she turned to look at him.

It wasn't as if he was lying. Without Elyssia they'd never sneak past Cook. The old woman was fond of Elyssia, and never said no to a small apple cake when the seven year old asked nicely. Theon, being the oldest and undoubtedly the most conspiring of them, had noticed this almost immediately and began using their younger friend to get as many apple cakes as he possibly could, eventually pulling Jon and Robb in as well.

"You guys will just leave me when I give it to you and tell me to go play with Sansa again." Elyssia looked down at her feet, frowning.

Robb frowned as well. He knew from experience that Elyssia hated playing with Sansa. His sister was only two years younger than she was, but Elyssia had spent most of her time in Winterfell trailing after the older boys so Sansa's childish games bored her. Theon was the worst culprit for sending their friend off to play with the five year old as soon as he'd gotten what he wanted from her.

"I promise you can play with us afterwords" Jon said kindly. "And if Theon tries to send you to play with Sansa, I'll come too"

Elyssia's eyes lit up as he spoke, her smile fully returning since the moment the three of them had cornered her. Jon had always been the nicest out of the three of them. His half-brother had always been more than willing to spend time with Elyssia when Theon and Robb wouldn't. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised Robb if Jon resigned himself to playing with the little doll Robb's father had given her as a welcoming present. Theon had been given a small, painted ship; which had been broken within a week while they were playing sea-war with Jon. The doll, however, was Elyssia's most treasured possession. She hardly let anyone see it, let alone play with it.

"Alright. I'll help you get one" Elyssia smiled shyly at Jon as she agreed to their scheme.

"Then let's go" Jon and Robb were forced to follow along as Theon seized Elyssia by the wrist and pulled her along after him. The poor girl was made to stumble along blindly, following Theon as best she could.

They stopped just outside the kitchens, crouching behind a hedge of tea leaves. Theon prodded Elyssia until she moved, walking around the edge of the hedge and toward the heavy wooden door the cooks kept propped open to relieve the heat of their work. She grabbed the door frame, peeking into the busy kitchen.

"Elyssia!" One of the older cooks, a chunky woman who bossed around the other kitchen staff waddled herself over to Elyssia. The woman was smiling brightly as she looked at the little girl leaning against the door frame. "What are you doing here today, sweetpea? Those boys run off without you again?"

"Yes miss Sweetraft" Elyssia nodded, looking down at the ground near her shoes.

"Awe that's too bad." The cook crossed her hands over her chest. "You don't need them to have fun, sweetpea. You just take one of these and go play with that pretty doll of yours. I'm sure you can borrow a toy from one of the others to make your own game"

Theon licked his lips as the cook handed Elyssia a still-hot cake. They could smell the sweet spice of pear as treat was grasped by their friend.

"Thank you" Elyssia looked at the treat sadly. "But I can't eat it all at once. And Theon will just take it from me"

Robb and Jon had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing at the scowl that crossed Theon's face. The cook shared Elyssia's frown before reaching in and taking another cake from a hidden tray.

"Why don't you take this one and give it to one of them? Jon is nice isn't he? Maybe if you offer him one he'll help you keep yours from mean ol' Theon?"

"Oh, thank you!" Elyssia smiled gratefully. "I'll do that! Thank you so much."

Robb couldn't help but be impressed as the cook gave Elyssia a friendly smile before turning back to her work. Elyssia held the two cakes carefully as she left the doorway, making her way to their hiding place beyond the hedge. Theon immediately jumped to his feet and hugged her, nearly crushing the cakes into her dress.

"You are a genius" Theon released her, stepping back to admire her work.

"You're welcome" Elyssia was blushing as she held out one of the cakes to Robb. "We can split them in half. Then we can all-"

"Oh no" Theon seized the cake. The three of us will split this one evenly and you can have a piece of that one"

Elyssia frowned, pinching her lips into a line. This was a common problem between them. Because she was younger, Elyssia was often the victim of Theon's twisted sense of fairness. The girl was too shy to argue with him. So instead she stood back looking sad as Theon broke the cake in half and prepared to break it again.

"That's mean, Theon" Jon took half of the cake from Theon and held it for himself. "Elyssia got them. We should be the one sharing while she gets one for herself. She was nice enough to let us each have half" He held his half of the cake toward Robb, knowing that once his brother had it Theon wouldn't dare try to take it back.

"Yeah. Jon's right" Robb accepted the piece of cake, biting into it happily.

Elyssia smiled and split her own cake in half, offering a piece to Jon. He took it with a small smile of thanks. The four of them sat quietly behind the hedge and enjoyed Elyssia's prize.

 _This isn't all that bad._ Robb thought to himself.


	2. The Drowned God -2-

_Elyssia Thorne -Age 13_

 _Theon Greyjoy- Age 15_

 _Robb Stark- Age 14_

 _Jon Snow- Age 14_

"Theon Greyjoy you take that back or I swear to the seven I'll-"

Elyssia was cut off by a smirking Theon. "Do what? You don't even follow the seven. And your precious tree god can't find you here"

" _Gods"_ She hissed at him. "There are more than just one you imbecile."

"Just because there's more than one tree that you bow to doesn't mean they can reach you here in the North, Lady Elyssia" Theon taunted. "You're surrounded by ancient trees and foreign gods. What could you possibly swear to."

"I'll swear on my life that I'll be the end of you yet, Theon Greyjoy" Elyssia protested, throwing a seething look in Robb's direction. "Would you help me? He's _your_ friend, Robb. Not mine"

Robb raised his hands in defeat as the young girl turned on him, her expression absolutely frosty. Elyssia and Theon had been bickering back and forth for a good two hours, tossing insults and snark back and forth. The entire display had been much to Jon's, and the rest of men in the training yard's, amusement, but Robb was bored. And frankly all he wanted was to stop the fighting so that they could get back to inside before his mother came looking for them.

"This is between the two of you" He answered. "It's not my fault he decided to tell you that your aim was bad"

"Bad?" Theon scoffed. "There are crippled bed slaves in Yunkai that could shoot better than she could"

 _Thwack._ Elyssia had taken one of the training arrows, taken aim, and fired. Her shot hit Theon directly in the chest, knocking the air out of him in a blow that was sure to leave a mark. Robb and Jon watched in dismay as Theon stumbled backwards from the hit, toppling into the deep puddle behind him. Elyssia smirked, clearly pleased with herself as her victim got to his feet, a dark fury already on his face.

"How was that shot, Theon?" Elyssia goaded. "Good enough to best some cripple now?"

"How dare you!" Theon glared, his fist clenching.

"Oh please. It'll barely bruise. Just avoid that damn brothel in the village for a week or so and there will be no one to spread tales of how the great Theon Greyjoy was bested by a girl with a bow and training arrow." Elyssia rolled her eyes.

"Theon!" Both Robb and Jon shouted as Theon nearly leaped across the narrow fence that divided the two sides of the training area. He grabbed for Elyssia wildly, clearly too infuriated to think about what he was doing.

Before either Jon or Robb could move, Theon was on the ground, holding one hand to his now bleeding forehead. Elyssia had taken the bow in her hands and swung hard, catching Theon in his temple just hard enough to snap the string. The results were mild scratches on her hands, and a shallow but bloody wound above Theon's eyes. Several guardsmen doubled over laughing.

"Come after me again, Greyjoy. And I'll make sure you get to meet your Drowned God sooner than planned" Elyssia said, out of breath and clearly shocked at her own actions.

"That's enough" A sharp voice cut off the laughter of the guardsmen and thoroughly stopped Theon's protesting. "If you're done beating each other, it seems Theon needs to see the Maester. And Elyssia needs to return to the Septa. Where she belongs"

Lord Stark wore a grim expression on his face as stood just outside the training yard. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, stance firm with the great sword Ice gleaming brightly in the sun. He didn't smile as Elyssia walked past him, having returned the bow she'd used to the bench that held multiple training weapons.

"My apologizes, Lord Stark" Elyssia said as she sulked past him, heading to the stone doorway where Robb's mother was waiting with a tense expression.

"And Theon" Robb watched as his father zeroed in on Theon as his friend tried to slip past the lord, still holding his bleeding head.

"Yes Lord Stark?" Theon asked, eyes to the ground as he answered.

"You could have at least ducked"


End file.
